My black dahlia
by becksthewolf
Summary: A Vandermarin story, Mona survives Alison's attempt to kill her, and starts the long road of recovery and redemption. Featuring the couples of Vandermarin, Paily, and Sparia. Will Mona redeem herself and get the girl?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: I hope you enjoy it, review and let me know what you think.**

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><p>Life had never been particularly kind to Mona Vanderwaal, she had been loser Mona. It was like she had a lot going for her, she was blind as a bat, short and probably more than just a little crazy. Out of everything life had thrown her way, the toughest thing to take was losing Hanna. Mona had tried so hard to make up for her mistakes, to atone for the damage she had done to that relationship, and yet Hanna seemed to still hate her.<p>

Alison being back in town had driven Mona to a breaking point, her enemy was here to play and once again Mona had nobody. She had lost her army to Alison's silver tongue, the only one left on Mona's side was Lucas. He was her faithful lieutenant, the last person to stand by her side, but he wasn't Hanna. He didn't make her heart flutter, nor did he prove to fill any part of the void Hanna had left behind in Mona's life.

Mona missed the blonde more than anything else in the world, if she could have done it over, Mona would have given up everything. She would have given up the world, just to have Hanna's hand in her own. Even having Hanna's friendship was better than the nothingness that now surrounded her. There was nothing but deafening quiet in her room, memories of times she had spent with Hanna. The room felt haunted to Mona, her whole life felt haunted in a weird way.

That was the reason Mona was trying to help the liars with Alison. Hanna and her own safety were the sole reason she was trying to help Spencer, Aria, and Emily with taking Alison down. Mona was scared of Alison, the formerly 'dead' girl was far more dangerous then she had been before. Something had snapped in Alison and Mona was scared to see what it was. The genius girl had poured all of her money, resources and knowledge into trying to help. She was currently reviewing some of Bethany's therapy tapes on her laptop in her room.

"Mona! I'm leaving darling."

Mona turned her attention from the computer, and rose from her bed. She slowly walked to the door, and headed down stairs. She knew she should be kind and walk her mom to the car.

"Be safe Mom." Mona said giving her mom a kiss on the cheek. "Stay out of trouble, and don't talk to strangers." Mona whispered, Mona didn't love people easily, but her mom had stood by her side. Mona felt like she could trust her mom, and with Alison back in town, they were scared for each other.

Mona's mom stared into her daughter's eyes, giving her a tight hug. "You as well sweetheart." She pressed a tender kiss to her daughter's forehead, before climbing in the car.  
>It was thanksgiving and Mona knew better than to be late to the family gathering. She wanted to leave to go with her mom, but she had promised the liars she would look into Alison's past. Mona was desperate to try and earn back Hanna's friendship, if doing this would help then it was worth it.<p>

Looking around Mona took in her surroundings, her time as A had shown her that she could never be to careful. She thought she had heard a branch crack, the thought seemed to spur her to hurry up and get inside. She hurried inside, not even noticing a hooded figure emerging behind her. She quickly locked the door, trying to check and see if she could spot anything.

She hurried upstairs and called Aria wanting her to know that she now had proof that Alison was A. She heard the downstairs down open, Mona's blood suddenly felt like ice water in her veins. She had a bad feelings about all of this. Look square in the mirror trying to watch her back as she heard the door to her room open. "Game over Alison, I win!" Mona called, slowly turning to watch as Alison entered the room.

Steely blue eyes stared back at her, as Alison slowly tilted her head to the side. Alison regarded Mona carefully, and then a wicked smile crossed her features tugging at the corner of her lips. "You see that's your problem, you think you've won. But, you are just sad, delusional, loser Mona." Alison growled slowly approaching her. She brandished a switch blade from pocket, slowly moving it around in her palm to testing it's weight.

"Everybody is going to know what you did Alison." Mona warned, trying to sound braver then she actually felt. She was trying to stall, trying to keep Alison talking until Aria or somebody got there. "Everybody is going to know you're A."

Alison raised a brow and then slowly shrugged, not really caring. "They might figure out I'm A, but that won't matter much to you. You see I made your loser Mona once, but I won't settle for just doing that. I am going to kill you." Alison said, her tone cold. There was no hesitation, her words showing how little she thought of Mona.

Mona felt a cold chill run down her back, but she forced herself to remain planted, her eyes glued to Alison. Alison had at least four inches of height and reach on her, and Mona wasn't sure how she was going to fight past her. Mona backed up against her dressed, her hands moving behind her to dig for the spare gun she kept around.

"Oh is little Mona scared?" Alison jeered, mocking Mona. She cared little for her, and she had every intention of taking Mona's life. Realizing that Mona was probably searching for a weapon Alison surged forward, slashing at Mona.

The shorter girl barely managed to get out of the way, her brown eyes widening with fear. "Alison stop!" Mona said holding her hands out in front of her, as if trying to ward the blonde off. Mona knew that Alison couldn't be reasoned with now. The blonde was completely off her rocker, and Mona had a sinking feeling that she wasn't about to get out of this alive. She backed slowly out of her room, looking for a chance to run. She froze when her back hit the bannister to the stairs.

It was strange to see her life flash before her eyes, all her memories of Hanna. Perhaps it was odd that Hanna was the one she was thinking about, sure her mother would be sad but Mona wasn't sure how Hanna would react. She wondered idly if her former best friend would even cry for her. Mona hadn't even got to tell her how she felt.

Alison stalked towards Mona, not even giving her a moment to catch her breath. She wanted to press her advantage, and finish the job. Smirking at the fact that Mona was almost begging with her Alison slashed out with the knife cutting Mona's hands and drawing first blood.

Mona cried out, instinctively moving away from the blade as if she had been burned. Her hands felt like they were on fire, and Mona could feel blood starting to pour from the twin slices on her palms. If she was going to die, she was going to go down with a fight. She was Mona Vanderwaal, she didn't just bow to anybody.

"Oh did that hurt? Are you going to cry?" Alison taunted, her eyes darkening with mischief. "Well I am not done with you yet. I'm going to make you pay." Alison growled, grabbing a fist full of Mona's shirt so that the shorter girl couldn't get away. "You see you've caused me so much misery, you've been a thorn in my side and now it's time to pluck you out once and for all." Alison raised her knife, the blonde full intent on dissecting Mona piece by bloody piece.

Mona twisted against Alison, trying to break free and avoiding the knife. She lasted out, scratching Alison's face, causing the girl to loosen her grip. Mona was fighting desperately now, doing anything she could to break free of Alison.

Alison used her knife-holding hand to jab the butt of the knife into Mona's cheek, a sickening crunch following it as she broke Mona's cheekbone, drawing more blood.  
>Mona whimpered in pain, her eyes shutting for a second. Alison was a dirty fighter, Mona could give her that much. Memories of Hanna flooded her mind, this couldn't be it. This couldn't be the end for her! Mona shoved at Alison's stomach, and threw her head forward head-butting Alison in the nose.<p>

"You little B-" Alison's scream was caught off as Mona threw a punch at her. Mona was trying to get some distance between them, so she could get free.  
>Alison stumbled back from Mona, allowing Mona to finally break free. Mona tore from Alison's grip, and raced down the stairs, dripping blood from the wounds to her hand and her face. She was above half way down when she felt blinding pain in her shoulder. Alison tackled her the rest of the way down the stairs, trying to shove her knife as deep into Mona's shoulder as she could. Mona screamed loudly, sobbing in pain.<p>

She didn't want to die, she wanted to fight. She wanted to survive and she wanted to see Hanna again. One last time at least, the memory of the blonde was the only thing that kept her fighting. She was bleeding heavily now, and feeling a lot weaker. Alison climbed off of her, and grabbed Mona by the hair. She tugged roughly on the girl's hair, ripping some of it out, as she forced Mona to stand up.

She ripped the knife none to kindly out of Mona's shoulder, getting sick satisfaction out of the scream of anguish that tore from Mona's throat. She lead Mona over to the mirror that hung by the door, having to support the shorter girl's weight. "Look at yourself! Look how pathetic loser Mona is. Nobody will miss you, nobody! You are a nobody Mona!" Alison spat, wanting to torture Mona before she finished the job. It soothed Alison's inner crazy person to see Mona all bloody and defeated. "I know about your crush on Hanna, she never loved you. She never will, all you'll ever be to her is Loser Mona, crazy, pathetic, Mona!" Alison shoved Mona away roughly, sending her crashing through the glass coffee table.

Mona lay still for a moment, the breath knocked out of her. She could feel bits and pieces of glass cutting into her skin. She had a massive shard jabbed into her side. She couldn't get a deep breath, and she knew the end was near. She only hoped her mom wouldn't be the one to find her body, she didn't want to cause her more pain then she already had.  
>Tears poured from Mona's eyes as she gripped the large shard and ripped it from her side. She was going to die anyways. She watched slowly as Alison stalked towards her, intent on finishing the job. Alison dropped to her knees, straddling Mona's bloody body. "You know... maybe I'll tell Hanna that your last words were a plea for her life. Maybe I'll kill her next, nobody has use for Hefty Hanna." Alison mused, pressing the point of her knife against Mona's throat.<p>

Using what little bit of energy she had remaining, and urged on by Alison's cruel words about Hanna, Mona used the shard she had pull from her side to jab it straight into the junction of Alison's neck and shoulders.

Alison froze for a moment, pain filling her eyes. She dropped her knife, her hands gripping at the shard. "You stabbed me." She seemed confused as if she couldn't comprehend what had happened. Mona feebly grabbed at the dropped knife, and slashed at Alison's throat.

Mona watched weakly as Alison clutched at her throat, trying to stop the bleeding. She felt Alison slump again her, though she couldn't move from under Alison's dead weight. She could hear Alison's gurgling cries until the blonde stopped moving.

Mona's eyes drifted to the ceiling. She was going to die, but at least she had taken Alison with her. At least Alison wouldn't be able to hurt the girls or Hanna. It was the only gift Mona could give them. Tears filled Mona's eyes, she wasn't ready to die. She was scared and cold, she just wished Hann could be there. It was gross, dying in this way. Mona used her finger covered in blood to blindly write out Hanna's name. She wanted the blonde to know that she had been the last thing on Mona's mind before she died.

Closing her eyes, she could distantly hear the front door opening and a scream of her name. Her eyes felt to heavy to open them, she just hoped it wasn't her mom. Her mom deserved way better than finding her body on Thanksgiving.

-  
>"You better not die on me, you hear me Vanderwaal?!" Hanna's voice was tense with emotion. She couldn't believe that her former best friend was in some operating room getting worked on. Mona had lost a lot of blood, but she had managed to stop Alison. The paramedics had said it was a wonder that Mona had even been alive when they got there. She was pacing impatiently in the hospital, waiting for an update.<p>

"Hanna...why don't you sit down." Aria suggested, she and Emily had been the ones to find Mona's body. Hanna hadn't been that far behind, and they hadn't been able to stop her before she entered the house. The blonde girl had nearly lost it, she had thought that Mona was as dead as Alison was. Aria placed a hand on Hanna's elbow, trying to guide her to a seat.

Hanna took a deep breath and frowned. She had seen that Mona had tried to write her name out in blood, it was creepy but it also meant something. "What if she was trying to tell me something?" Hanna asked, looking to the other girls.

Emily frowned and wrapped her arms around her best friend. "It's going to be okay Hanna, if anything is for certain it's that Mona is a survivor." Emily commented, she was a bit torn up about Alison. The blonde had been her first love, but Emily knew that Alison was off her rocker.

Aria swallowed thickly and reached out a hand to comfort Hanna. She hated feeling useless and she felt bad for Hanna. Aria wasn't sure she would ever be able to handle losing Spencer.

"I should go talk to Mrs. V. She's probably worried sick about Mona." Hanna said wiping at her eyes. She didn't want to cry, but she was having a hard time believing that Mona could get through this. She wanted to believe it though, it was hard to imagine a life without Mona in it. The shorter girl had become her best friend, somebody that Hanna really felt like she could depend on.

Hanna walked slowly towards Mona's mom and took a seat next to her. "Have the doctor's said anything?"

The older woman shook her head. "Just that Mona lost a lot of blood, it'll be a miracle if she makes it out of surgery. Your friend did a number on her."

Hanna could detect the bitterness in the older woman's voice. Hanna felt horrible, she should have got there sooner. "Alison was never my friend, Alison didn't know the meaning of friendship." Hanna replied, looking down. "Mona is tough, she's going to pull through this." Hanna replied, trying to hold on to hope. It was hard though, she wasn't sure she believed that Mona could, there had just been so much blood.

"She loves you, you do know that right?"

Hanna looked confused by the older woman's words. "She loves me?"

Mrs. Vanderwaal nodded her head. "Yes, as in she loves you in an unhealthy way. She is in love with you, and no matter what happens, I think she'd want you to know that."  
>Hanna wasn't sure what to make of that. Surely her and Mona had been tight once, and Mona had been really friendly, but Hanna had assumed that it was just what Mona was like.<br>"I...I didn't know that she loved me, but I guess I do now." Hanna thought back to conversations she had with Mona. She knew the shorter girl had tried so hard to make up for the past. Hanna had never really let Mona forget about the betrayal, and she felt guilty now.

"You should go get something to eat Hanna, Mona wouldn't want you to starve yourself. She'll probably be in surgery for a few more hours anyways." Mrs. Vanderwaal replied softly, gesturing for Hanna to go.

Sighing softly, the blonde rose to her feet. She knew Mrs. V had a point, it wouldn't do anybody any good if Hanna was hungry. She wasn't sure she could eat though, but never the less she turned and gestured to Emily. She took her best friend's arm and silently walked towards the cafeteria.

It was a good hour later that Hanna made her way back up to the surgery wing, to see if Mona was out of surgery. Emily and Aria followed after her, trying to provide moral support for the blonde.

"She's out of surgery." Mrs. V said, looking to Hanna. She had already checked on her daughter, they had tried to patch up Mona's wounds the best that they could. However it would be up to Mona to fight to survive, it was still going to be touch and go for a while.

"Can I see her?" Hanna asked, looking hopeful. She wanted to see Mona, she needed to see with her own eyes that her friend had made it. She needed to know that Mona was alive.

Mrs. V nodded her head and then gestured for Hanna to go ahead. "Only you though, I don't want her to wake up and be overwhelmed."

Hanna nodded her head and walked slowly into the hospital room. It smelled a lot like cleaner and it felt cold in there. In Hanna's opinion, it felt like there was barely any warmth in the room, and it scared her. She walked over to Mona's bedside and frowned. The girl was covered in bandages, her hands were bandaged, and there were bandages peaking out from her gown.

"Oh Mona." Hanna wanted to reach for her hand, but with the cuts and bandages, she didn't grab for it. "You need to fight this Mona, you need to be okay." Hanna whispered, she leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Mona's forehead. It suddenly hit her just how close she had been to losing her friend. Mona was important to her, and Hanna was tired of keeping the girl at arms length. She didn't want to risk losing anymore time.

"Just pull through Mona, I need you. I need you here with me. I have so many questions, I love you Mona...just please fight." Hanna sat down by the bed and sighed. She had a feeling it was going to be a very long night. She would wait though, she would be there for Mona, and try to be the kind of friend that Mona deserved.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I appreciate everybody who reads my stories, it means a lot. I don't own pll, if I did Vandermarin would be a thing. Enjoy the story**

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><p>The room smelled too clean, like death had been there and left. At first Mona assumed it was some kind of heaven or maybe it was hell. As far as she knew she was dead, and it hurt to open her eyes. The lights were far to bright. She wasn't sure why things were so bright, but slowly she opened her eyes. It took her a moment, before everything started to be come clearer and less foggy. She wasn't dead, that much was becoming apparent.<p>

Her mother was the first thing that Mona's eyes landed on, her mother who was tired and barely managing to hold a comfortable position in the chair. Mona felt a rush of guilt hit her, had her mother been the one to find her. Mona's head was pounding, but she felt the need to take in her surroundings.. She had learned long ago not to be caught unaware, she had learned that she needed to be in control at all times.

She was in a hospital, that much Mona could figure out on her own. She slowly licked her lips, trying to wet them. Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth, and her throat felt dry. She narrowed her eyes, trying to force her body to move but when her body didn't do as she asked, she let out a soft whimper of frustration.

The noise seemed to wake her mother up. Mona's mom sat straight up and reached for Mona's hand before stopping herself. Leona Vanderwaal stared at her daughter, tears filling her eyes. She couldn't believe that Mona was awake and alive.

"Hey baby girl." Leona whispered, staring down into her daughter's eyes. "Mommy's here for you." She was so relieved that Mona was alert.

Mona tried to shift positions to sit up, but ended up crying out in pain. She felt like her whole body was weighted down by cinder blocks. Everything felt fuzzy to her, but she was trying to hold it all in. She didn't want her mom worrying about her more than she had. "I'm sorry I ruined Thanksgiving." She whispered weakly. She felt like the worst daughter in the world.

"Oh honey you didn't ruin it." Leona whispered, staring down at the girl. She was just so happy her daughter was alive. She had been terrified, and worried about Mona. "I should go get your doctor. Do you want me to wake up Hanna?" Leona asked, glancing over to the corner of the hospital room where Hanna lay curled up into a ball.

Mona was confused as she tried to turn to see Hanna, she hadn't been aware that Hanna was even there. She could feel her heart beating faster, a blush settling on her cheeks. She didn't want Hanna to see her like this, she didn't want Hanna to see how broken she was inside.

Leona cracked a soft smile and glanced to the heart monitor. It wasn't a surprise to her that the thought of Hanna could get her daughter's heart racing. "I'll be back in a minute or two." Leona said, moving away from Mona's hospital bed. She knelt next to Hanna, shaking the blonde awake before walking out to go talk to the doctor.

The brunette stared at Hanna for a long time, watching the blonde stretch out as she woke up. Mona couldn't describe the way it made her feel to have Hanna in the same room with her. She knew in her gut that it was some kind of blessing to even be alive, and to see Hanna again. Mona had really thought she was going to die, and that though alone was enough to cause her eyes to burn with unshed tears.

"I see you made it through the night, you had me scared. I don't think I've been this worried about you, since the time you tried to shop lift those ugg boots from the mall." Hanna said moving over to stand by Mona's bed. The blonde gave a soft yawn, she had spent the night curled up in the corner of Mona's room. She hadn't wanted to leave Mona's side, she had been worried sick.

The corner of Mona's lips twitched up into a half smile and she gave a little snort. "Those boots had my name on them, and besides I just had to get them. They were to die for." Mona replied, her brown eyes roaming over Hanna's features. It was a relief to know that Hanna was there for her, that Hanna had stayed by her side. She could still see shades of her best friend in the blonde's eyes and demeanor.

Hanna watched her, her mind going back to what Mona's mom had talked about. Could Mona really be in love with her, after all this time? Hanna sat down by the side of the bed and watched Mona closely, before sighing softly. "You scared me to death, you were in surgery for a long time." Hanna finally spoke, she had never been good at beating around the bush. "Alison is dead though."

Mona's eyes glazed over for a moment, and she turned her attention away from Hanna. She knew she had killed Alison, she had felt the former queen bee bleed out on top of her. "I know she was your friend, and I'm sorry. It was self defense though."

"You're my friend too Mona, and I am glad you're alive. I wouldn't trade your life for hers." Hanna replied, not wanting Mona to think that. She was very thankful that Mona had somehow survived. "I am just glad you're okay." Hanna added sheepishly. She felt like she could see Mona a bit differently now, some of Mona's actions as A made sense.

Love was a crazy motivator, it had the ability to make people do some crazy things. Hanna understood that now, and she was ready to move past all the pain that had been dealt her way. She just wanted to give Mona another chance.

Mona was quiet, she didn't really trust herself to keep looking at Hanna. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and it was clearly heard due to the heart monitor.

"Either you're scared of me or you're happy to see me." Hanna attempted to joke, she had noticed the heart monitor machine beeping rather rapidly. She giggled softly, watching as a blush heated up Mona's cheeks.

Mona again attempted to sit up, and finally managed to get it, though she was in a lot of pain. "I feel like I've been ran over by a truck." Mona grumbled, though her face lit up when Hanna gave her a warm look.

"I brought you some make up, I remember what you did for me when I was in the hospital. I guess we're kind of even now?" Hanna inquired, remembering how Mona had hit her with the car. Her friend had almost killed Mona, so maybe karma was done settling the score. "I know how you feel about dressed for success. You told me once, that you never know what life will throw at you, or who will be walking in your path." Hanna mused, grabbing some make up out of her purse.

The blue-eyed girl looked Mona over, wondering where she couldn't apply make up. Mona's cheek bone was broken and she had a nasty gash on her right cheek. "We can't do blush and eye shadow might hurt, so why don't we settled for lip stick. You can still knock them dead with those full lips." Hanna commented, as she started doing Mona's make up.

Hanna was trying to be as gentle as she could with Mona, she didn't want to cause her more pain then she already had. She felt guilty for all the shit she had put Mona through, that had never been her intention when she helped Alison come back to Rosewood. She applied some lipstick to Mona's lips and then pulled back, trying not to openly stare at Mona.

"Why are you here?" Mona finally asked, staring up at Hanna. She realized her question was a bit harsh, she hadn't meant it that way. "I am glad you're here, I just...I don't know why you came."

Hanna frowned and stared at Mona. "You really loved me once, and you really were my friend. That's what you told me, and I really was your friend too Mona. I've spent to long being mad at you, I forgive you and I want to move on. I want to be friends again. You were my best friend."

"I want to be friends too." Mona admitted softly, it was true. That was something that the former evil genius wanted more than anything. "When Alison was trying to kill me, it was you I was thinking of. I didn't care if she killed me, but losing you wasn't something I was prepared to deal with." Mona didn't know how to explain it, but losing Hanna had scared her. It had been that last bit of strength she needed when fighting Alison.

Hanna stared at Mona long and hard, it was a lot to process. Her mind was still on what Leona Vanderwaal had said about Mona being in love with her. The more that Mona spoke, the clearer it seemed to Hanna. Hanna stared at Mona for a long momet, her gaze lingering on her lips. She hesitated and then leaned it. Hanna's lips barely grazed Mona's but she covered that quickly, by using her thumb to brush over Mona's bottom lip. "Don't want your make up to get smeared."

Mona just stared up at her dumbly, trying to process if that had just happened. Had Hanna just kissed her. Mona slowly raised a bandaged hand, her fingers brushing her lips tenderly.

Hanna watched her and then abruptly stood up. "I should go." She said grabbing her bag to leave.

Fear filled Mona's eyes. "Wait! No, Hanna please." She begged not ready to see the blonde go.

"I'll be back later." Hanna replied, before abruptly departing the room.


	3. Chapter 3

A/n: I hope you all enjoy the newest chapter, it's dedicated to my fellow paily anchors and Siobhan.

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><p>"You look like you got ran over by a truck."<p>

Mona's eyes snapped up and she glanced over to see Lucas standing in her door way. She gave him a look, trying to figure him out. He was one of the few people who had stood by her side when everybody else had left her for Alison. She was glad to see him though, Mona didn't have many friends but she would count Lucas among the ones that she did have.

"What's behind your back?" Mona asked, trying to peak around and see what he was holding. She whimpered in pain, her shoulder groaning in protest. She hated moving, hated feeling like her stitches were going to rip out at anytime.

Lucas gave her a soft smile and showed her the strawberry milkshake behind his back. "I don't know if you can have this or not, bu-"

Mona waved a hand to cut him off. She held out her hands and then frowned. She couldn't hold the drink due to the cuts and stitches in her hands. "Bring it here and give me a drink." Mona demanded, adding a 'please' after a moment.

The boy smirked and carried the drink over to her. "Here." He whispered, bending the straw so she could get some of the milkshake. "I was worried about you, I was right outside your house with the others when your mom got home."

Mona pulled away from the drink and frowned, she could only imagine what her mom had gone through. Coming home to find all of that blood, it was unnerving in a way. Mona shuddered, a sharp cry escaping her lips. Moving hurt a lot, she couldn't help it though.

"So I see you got balloons, who's all come to visit you?" Lucas asked, taking a seat next to the bed.

"My mom, some of our former friends, Principal Hackett." Mona listed off, she almost left out Hanna, but she knew she shouldn't. "Hanna came by too, she stayed in the corner refusing to leave my side."

Lucas looked over to the corner and then back to Mona, a look of confusion in his eyes. He held up his hands as if to ask where Hanna had gone to.

"She kiss me and then she left." Mona said, her fingers drifting back to her lips. She could almost Hanna's lips on her own still. She wanted nothing more than to experience Hanna kissing her again. The kiss had been everything she could have imagined, but yet, she still hadn't gotten to enjoy the kiss. She wanted to kiss Hanna, to really just breathe in the taste of Hanna's lips against her own.

The boy just stared at her, almost in awe. He was trying to put two and two together. Mona had never exactly been forthcoming about information regarding who she was into, they just didn't talk about it. Lucas took that in stride though, respecting that there was more to both Mona and Hanna then what he knew. "She kissed you though?" A cheesy smile pulled at his lips and he nodded his approval.

Mona nodded slowly, glad that Lucas wasn't making a big deal out of it. "I don't know if she regrets it. She just jammed out of here and told me she'd be back later." Mona explained, she was smart but sometimes Hanna made her forget everything.

That was a lot of news to digest but Lucas was happy for Mona. "Well I guess we are going to find a way to get her to kiss you again. She obviously has some sort of feelings towards you. I don't think she would have kissed you if she didn't. We'll figure it out." Lucas promised her, he knew they just needed a good plan.

"You did what?!" Emily stared coldly at Hanna, surprised by the blonde. Hanna had shown up at her house, interrupting Emily and Paige's date. Thankfully Paige had been kind enough to excuse herself to the kitchen to allow Emily and Hanna to talk.

"I kissed her." Hanna replied, hiding her now flaming cheeks with her hands. Her mind was going a million miles a minute. Had she meant to kiss Mona, all she had been able to think about was Mona's lips. "Her lips were so soft Em," Hanna said deflating into the couch. She was so confused on what to do, Mona was her friend, but Mona was also the enemy.

Emily was having a hard time processing this, but then again anything with Hanna took a lot of time to think through. She stared at Hanna long and hard, trying to make heads or tails of the girl's feelings. "You like her now?"

Hanna shrugged her shoulders, Mona had been an important part of her life and she had loved her in a friendship sort of way for a long time. "She was there for me when I needed her, she's important to me." Hanna mused, she ran a hand through her hair, tugging at it in frustration.

The swimmer took a moment, trying to figure it all out. "Okay, are you going to go talk things out with her, that might be the best place to start." Emily suggested, she glanced to the kitchen her eyes finding Paige's back. Emily wasn't sure their story would help Hanna, but maybe Paige could. "Hey babe, c'mere!" She called, knowing Paige could be a bit more sympathetic to Hanna's plight.

Paige walked from the kitchen and sat down next to Emily. She gave her a warm smile and a soft kiss, before glancing to Hanna. "What's wrong Hanna?"

"She kissed Mona." Emily explained, she was hoping Paige could be more objective. Emily had her own issues with Mona, and she wasn't as forgiving as Paige could be. Paige could be objective towards Mona and Hanna's feelings.

Paige arched a brow, taking the news in stride. She wasn't judging though, she respected Hanna's choices, everybody deserved love even Mona. "Alright, she kissed Mona - You kissed Mona..." Paige turned to look at Hanna, waiting for the blonde to continue with her story.

Hanna took a deep breath, trying to force herself to meet Paige's eyes. "I kissed her and then I ran." Hanna explained softly.

Paige cracked a soft smile. "I did the same thing the first time I kissed Emily. I kissed her and told her not to tell anybody." Paige replied, trying to help Hanna feel more at ease. She wanted to show Hanna that she wasn't alone in that.

Emily smiled back at Paige and snuggled into her girlfriend's side. "I may not like Mona very much, but if you have a thing for you, you should figure it out. There's nothing better than spending time with people you care about."

"Yeah, I guess your right." Hanna felt conflicted, she wanted to figure out her feelings for Mona, but she also wanted to just kiss her again. Something about kissing Mona had felt right, like for the first time in years she could breathe.

Hanna stood up from her chair, and hugged both of her friends. She knew she needed to go see Mona, her friend needed her now. She waved goodbye and headed out to her car. She had a feeling she needed to do something special for Mona.

It was about two hours later that Hanna arrived at the hospital. Lucas was already gone, and Mrs. Vanderwaal saw her coming from down the hall.

"Hey I have to run home and shower, would you mind keeping Mona company? I don't like leaving her alone, but I need to pack some clothes and change out of these ones." Leona admitted, looking pleading at her daughter's best friend. Leona didn't want Mona to be by herself.

Hanna nodded her head, she had some stuff she wanted to show Mona and it would be easier if Mona's mom wasn't there to interrupt. "Sure Mrs. V." Hanna said giving her a soft smile. "I brought Mona some stuff." Hanna mused, giving her a sweet smile. She couldn't wait to see Mona.

Mona's mother gave a soft smile, thinking the gesture was rather sweet. "Sure, go ahead. I think she might be napping, but she'd love the company." Leona admitted, leaving Hanna to her own devices.

The blonde watched her go and then slowly headed inside of Mona's room. She shut the door behind her, and glanced over to where Mona was sleeping. Hanna watched her for a moment, just taking in how peaceful the formerly evil genius looked. Mona looked smaller, almost deflated in a way. It made Hanna feel kind of sad. She sat down by Mona's bed and placed the bag of goodies on the floor next to her chair.

Hanna's eyes slowly trailed the room, taking in the sight of all the cards. It was evident some people were trying to get back in Mona's good graces after siding with Alison. Hanna felt guilty for pushing Mona away, but hopefully they could move past all of the crap in the past. Hanna was ready to just start a new, and discover how she really felt towards Mona. She certainly felt something for the brunette beauty.

Hanna moved closer to Mona, and smiled softly at the slightly smeared lipstick. She was kind of happy that Mona had kept it on, instead of scrubbing it off. Hanna stared at her lips, and then realized she was being slightly creepy. She wanted to kiss her though, now that she knew what it felt like, she craved more. Slowly lowering her head she brushed her lips against Mona's.

Mona stirred slightly against Hanna's kiss, she groaned softly thinking she was dreaming. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking in confusion as she pulled away. "Hanna...?"  
>"I just wanted to know what it would be like, I'm sorry."<p>

Mona shook her head, waving off the taller girl's apology. She stared into the blue eyes she had came to love, and tilted her head. "Don't be sorry, for so long I wondered what it'd be like to kiss you, but so far each time you've kissed me." She pointed out softly.

A wide smile split Hanna's face and she leaned forward. She knew they would eventually have to talk about this, but right now all she wanted to do was kiss Mona. It was becoming rather addictive. "Kiss me." Hanna demanded softly, wanting to give Mona her chance.

"Seriously?" Mona was waiting to see if Hanna was joking, but when the blonde moved closer Mona took her chance. She used the tips of her fingers to cup Hanna's face and drew her into a tender kiss. She let her lips move slowly against Hanna's trying to get used to the feel. She had wanted to kiss Hanna back on the Halloween train, but this was so much  
>better. She had longed to kiss her, and now she finally was.<p>

The blonde kissed her back passionately, kissing her deeply before pulling away. "Whoa." She murmured, looking pleasantly surprised by how much she had enjoyed the kiss. She sat back in her chair, but hated being to far away, so she pulled her chair as close as she could.

"Yeah, whoa." Mona gave a nervous giggle, wondering if Hanna was going to regret kissing her or not. Mona wasn't sure she could handle that rejection, if that was indeed the case. She looked past Hanna and to the ground. "What's that?" Mona asked, shifting to try and sit up in her hospital bed.

Hanna picked up the bag and smiled brightly at her. "I got you something." She explained softly. Hanna opened the bag and pulled out a little stitch beanie baby. "To remind you of me, and to hold when you don't feel well." Hanna explained, giving her a soft smile.

Mona giggled but took the plushie toy. "Well thank you Hanna, that was thoughtful."

Hanna smiled and picked up a small little plant. "I got you an orchid. It means refined beauty." Hanna had gotten it from the florist. She didn't want to get Mona something meaningless. She set it down on the window sill so that the plant could get some light.

Mona blushed and giggled again shyly. "Well thank you Hanna, that was thoughtful." Mona gave her a look, trying to make heads or tails of her. She didn't quite understand why Hanna was being so kind to her. "Hanna... are you just doing this because you feel guilty?"

"No, are you only accepting it, because you feel guilty?" Hanna shot back, she sighed and moved to sit on Mona's bed next to her. She wanted to grab her hand, but she knew she couldn't with Mona's wounds. "Look I feel something when I kiss you, but I don't want to rush this. So let's just enjoy this for the moment, we can label it later. I've spent so much time pushing you away, I just want to be here in the moment with you. Let's discuss it tomorrow or heck, let's wait a week. Let's just enjoy each other's company. I want to be here for you Mona if you'll let me." Hanna said, her words seemed rushed but she wanted to get them all out before Mona cut her off. Hanna had never fared well with rejection either.

Mona stared at her long and hard and then slowly smiled. She had waited so long for a chance with Hanna, and if a week was all she was going to get, then by god she was going to enjoy it. "Alright, c'mon then. You and me Hanna." She wanted to enjoy what time she had with her. "Are there any rules I need to know about for this little arraignment?"

Hanna snickered, thinking about that for a moment. "Kissing is okay, but not in front of your mom. That's be a little weird. No fondling at least until you feel better. I think that's about it, but I will let you know if I think up more." Hanna said staring into her eyes.

"You drive a hard bargain Marin, but I am in." Mona whimpered softly, straining to move over to the side of the bed. "Now come here, and lay down next to me. My mom won't be back for a while and I want to snuggle with you."

Hanna moved next to her, careful not to hurt Mona or hurt her wounds. She laid down next to her, and as gently as she could snuggled with her. "I've missed you Mona." She whispered, slowly running her fingers over Mona's collarbone. She smirked a little bit and kissed at her neck.

"F-..dang it Han, you're not playing fair." Mona gasped softly, her eyes widening at the kisses. She was trying to hold still and not squirm around to much.

Hanna merely giggled, enjoying what she was doing to Mona, she found a lot of amusement in it. "Payback is a butt my dear." Hanna teased, though her gaze was warm. She really cared for Mona.

The brunette sighed in mock annoyance and snuggled closer to Hanna. "Just shut up and hold me."

Hanna pecked her lips and snuggled as close as she could without hurting Mona. "As you wish babe."


	4. Chapter 4

It had exactly a week since Alison had tried to kill Mona, and six days since Hanna had kissed her. Mona had enjoyed the time she spent with Hanna, finally getting to kiss her when she wanted to. However she was getting out of the hospital soon, and she knew she needed to start working on getting the strength back in her shoulder and her hands.

Mona had sent Hanna home, telling her girlfriend to spend sometime with her friends. It was odd to think of Hanna as her girlfriend but Mona liked it. She liked knowing that Hanna was hers, at least for the time being anyways. She knew they would have to talk about what was going on between them, but right now Mona didn't want to. She just wanted to get through all of the pain that would come with doing rehab.

She took a deep breath and tried to steel her resolve, she had a feeling, she was going to be in this thing for the long hall. Mona just hoped that her mom would be there when she was done with therapy. She wasn't sure she could handle being on her own again. She liked it far better when she had the company of somebody she could actually trust.  
>-<p>

"So I haven't seen much of you around." Emily commented as she watched Hanna. Hanna had invited the girls over for a sleep over, and Emily felt lucky enough to have had Paige get invited as well. It meant a lot to Emily that Hanna was trying to include Paige in their special hang outs.

Hanna nodded her head, it had been a while. "I'm sorry, I know I've spent the last couple of days with Mona. I haven't really left her side." Hanna admitted, knowing it was a bit odd. She just felt like Mona needed her, and she had been lost in the blissful feeling of finally having somebody who wanted her to be there.

Emily shrugged her shoulders, she wasn't the type to judge Hanna. She knew what it was like to be lost in the newness of a relationship. "Well I at least hope she is treating you good. Can I ask why you aren't there right now?" Emily inquired trying to figure out what her blonde friend was up to.

Hanna took a deep breath, really trying to think about that. She knew Mona was starting physically therapy and didn't want her there. Hanna knew Mona didn't like to seem weak in front of people, it was just something that Mona had an issue with. "She doesn't want me to be there today. It's her first day of rehab, and I just, I think it's something she has to do on her own. She practically kicked me out of the stupid room." Hanna mumbled, shrugging her shoulders.

"You know Mona though, she's very stubborn. I mean the girl should have hard headed tattooed across her forehead." Spencer mused as she walked over to join the conversation. Aria soon joined them as well, pressing as close to Spencer as she possible could.

Hanna nodded in agreement, it was true. Mona was a lot more hard headed then one might think. Still she felt guilty for not being there for Mona. She felt like they had done a great deal to forgive each other and to work past some of the issues they were dealing with.

"So you guys are together now?" Aria asked interrupting the silence.

The blonde nodded her head, but she too was uncertain about just where exactly she lay in regards to the relationship. "I certainly think we are, we agreed not to talk about it. I mean we don't want to move to fast, plus she's injured. When she gets better and we both have time to think, I think we will decide then." Hanna admitted, she was trying to play it cool. She didn't want to come across as worried, but the doubts had entered her mind a time or too. What if Mona was mistaken, what if the shorter girl really didn't have feelings for her. Hanna was worried she had somehow read all the signs wrong or something.

Emily seemed to pick up on her friend's feelings. She had been best friends with Hanna long enough to know that the blonde seemed to doubt herself sometimes. "Hey Spencer, can you and Aria go help Paige set up Hanna's room, I have a feeling Paige doesn't know how to make it so that everybody can see the screen."

Aria raised a brow, but shrugged. "Alright, sure." She grabbed Spencer's hand, and gently tugged the taller girl up the stairs, so that they could go help Paige.

"So spit it out, what's going on. Why'd you get all depressed all of a sudden?" Emily asked Hanna, looking for the girl to answer her.

"What are you talking about, there's nothing wrong." The blue-eyed girl replied. She wasn't sure how she was going to pass this off, she knew Emily was persistent as heck. She sighed and decided to give in, sometimes giving into Emily was easier than fighting her. "I am worried Mona is going to feel like she made a mistake."

Emily rolled her eyes and pulled Hanna into a hug. "I know she's into you, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is. She's kind of crazy when it comes to you." Emily admitted giving a soft giggle. She wasn't sure how else to phrase it to make Hanna understand.

"You really think she feels that strongly?" Hanna asked needing that reassurance, sometimes she still saw herself as hefty Hanna.

"You have to trust her!" Emily exclaimed, wanting Hanna to get it through her skull. She wanted her to realize that she was valuable and that anybody including Mona would be lucky to have her. "I seriously believe that Mona would fight the world just to spend one day by your side. That's how I feel about Paige." Emily mused, she knew it was good for Hanna to sort through her feelings though.

Hanna nodded, she still wasn't sure what to do. "Maybe I should avoid her for a few days though, give her some space?" She asked, wanting Mona to be positive about what she wanted.

Emily shook her head, she had a feeling that if Hanna abandoned Mona, that it would only cause more trouble down the road. "Just talk to her, just try and get through to her and yourself. You need to trust Mona, and if you feel like you need time to think then be honest. But I am pretty sure she's as into you as you are for her."  
>Hanna nodded, knowing Emily was right, she did need to talk to Mona.<p>

When Hanna finally got back the hospital Mona was sitting in her bed, looking rather irritated and unhappy. Mona had tried all day to relearn how to grip things, her hands were screwed up and Mona was tired from the rehab, and having to work out muscles that didn't want to be worked.  
>"You look exhausted." Hanna said slowly rocking back and forth on her heels.<p>

Mona nodded her head, truthfully she was tired. She didn't feel well and she felt weak. She hated being weak in front of Hanna and she just wanted it all to stop. She wanted Hanna to think of her as brave, and not some weak girl in a hospital bed.

"So..." Hanna moved over to sit by Mona's bedside and gently took her hand. "I've been thinking, about us. I think until your better we should cool it, and maybe just focus on being friends and your recovery."

Mona stared at her, her eyes narrowing slightly. Hanna's words felt an awful lot like a break up, and Mona was just done. She felt tired from a long day, and the blonde's words seemed to pull the pin on the grenade of emotions Mona was sitting on.

"Fine Hanna, get out." Mona said gesturing to the door.

Hanna looked hurt, and raised a brow. "Mona I wasn't -" Mona raised a hand and cut her off. She gestured to the door, trying to hide how bad she was shaking.

"I said get out of my room Hanna." Mona said, feeling emotionally drained. She didn't want to be weak, not in front of Hanna, not when she couldn't defend herself. Hanna was breaking her heart, and all Mona could do was lay there and take it. Her defenses were coming up and she just wanted the pain to stop hurting so bad. She had felt so loved and so happy the night before, but now all she felt was a hole in her heart and a lot of emptiness.

Hanna rose to her feet, swallowing thickly. "Mona please, you can't be mad at me. I just, I don't want us to rush into this. I don't want to enter a relationship with you and not give you a hundred and ten percent. You deserve a lot better then that. I love you Mona, you're my best friend and you deserve to have the truth."

Mona looked away from her, her eyes feeling with tears. "I don't need you Hanna. Just leave me alone. Just go okay. I'm fine, I survived without you before, and I'll do It again. Just leave." Tears were streaming down Mona's cheeks, but she wouldn't give Hanna the chance to see her cry. "Don't come back Marin, just stay away from me and I'll stay away from you."

Hanna felt her heart constricting in her chest. She hadn't planned for the conversation to go this way. She felt like Mona was over reacting but she could kind of see Mona's point. Hanna was taking away something that seemed to mean a lot to Mona. She knew it had been a tough day for Mona, so Hanna felt like it was better to cut her losses and to just try again the next day.

"Mona I do love you, and I do want to give this a shot. I will be back for you, I care about you. I just care enough about you, to not trap you and steal your focus away from what really matters. You need to get healthy and recover. I want to be your friend and support you, and I think right now, what you need is a friend not a girl friend."

The former evil genius looked at the blonde finally, her eyes still filled with tears. "Get out of here, and don't come back Hanna. I told you I can do this on my own, go back with  
>your little friends, just leave me alone." Mona said trying to hide behind a cold wall. "If you ever cared for me at all, you'll respect my wishes and just go."<p>

The blonde's blue eyes filled with tears and she nodded her head slowly. "Goodbye Mona." She turned on her heels and walked from the room. She wasn't sure how she would fix  
>things, but she knew she needed Mona in her life. She couldn't leave things like this, she could bare being distant and cold with Mona. She needed Mona in her life, nothing had felt better than when Mona had kissed her. It had give Hanna a sense of belonging and now she felt lost without it.<p>

Mona watched Hanna go and let out an anguished cry, what she felt now was a million times worse. She felt alone and broken. She wondered if she should have just let Alison kill her. She had fought so hard to save Hanna, maybe Hanna had only kissed her and gone along with Mona out of pity. Mona felt like she was going to be sick to her stomach.

She eyed the room, looking for anything she could take to dull the pain. She had to get out of that room, it was suffocating her. She couldn't take it anymore, she had lost Hanna now, and it wasn't like she would ever be the same after what Ali had done for her. Slowly she unhooked herself fro the monitors and painstakingly got herself dressed. She needed to get out of that hospital, she had no idea where she was going to go, but any place was better than where she was. Pulling her hoodie on, she slowly crept down the hall way. It was time to get out of that stupid hospital room.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note/ chapter summary: Paige finds Mona and gives her a much needed push in the right directions. So lots of Maige feels, as well as no more sad vandermarin. Sad vandermarin is sad. Lots of thanks to my friends Beanie and Siobhan for reading my stories and giving me Paily and Vandermarin feels. **

* * *

><p>"She's gone!"<p>

Emily hadn't been awake before, she had barely been awake enough to answer her cellphone that was ringing. Today was the one day a week she got to sleep in, and she wasn't amused that Hanna was waking her up. "What are you going on about?" Emily asked, wanting some more explanation.

"Mona!" Hanna huffed into the phone. "We had a fight, I think we broke up, she kicked me out. I came back to try and patch things up with her after giving her a few hours to cool down, but she's gone. The hospital staff say that she signed herself out. Mona told them she was eighteen and against medical advice signed herself out of the hospital. The don't know which way she went, she didn't go home either. I called her mom. ." The blonde said, her words pouring from her lips before she could stop them. It was evident that she was panicked.

Emily sat straight up in bed, suddenly feeling more awake. She didn't know what had happened between Mona and Hanna but she had a bad feeling about it. Mona didn't do well with being rejected by Hanna, if the past was anything to go off of. "Hold on, I'm coming for you. Just tell me where you are, and I'll make sure to find you." Emily promised softly, she didn't want Hanna to go into a meltdown mode either. Mona going crazy and breaking out of the hospital was a big enough disaster on it's own.

Paige McCullers liked to run, running was her thing. She liked to run at the crack of dawn, and feel the sky lighting up her path as she went. She ran the trail so often she could probably have ran it blind folded. She felt like she knew every rock, every puddle which was why it was surprising to see a lump in the middle of the trail. Paige slowed down as she neared it, finally realizing that the lump was in fact a person.

Paige stopped completely for a moment and pulled her phone from her pocket, ready to call nine-one-one if she needed to. She neared the downed figure and was rather surprised to find that the lump was Mona. "Vanderwaal?"

Mona weakly lifted her head up from the dirt path and glanced to Paige. "What are you doing here?" Mona asked, trying to use what little strength she had to force herself into a kneeling position on the ground. She wasn't about to appear weak in front of one of the liars bed buddies.

"Who, slow down. Let me help you." Paige offered, grabbing the crook of Mona's elbow to help her up.

"I don't need your help." Mona snapped, jerking away from Paige, only to almost lose her balance. Paige caught her easily however and helped steady the shorter girl. Once she was sure Mona was steady, Paige backed off a pace.

"Your hands are bleeding, aren't you supposed to be in the hospital still?" Paige asked, keeping her voice calm. Mona didn't scare her, and in Mona's weekend condition Paige was certain that Mona didn't scare anybody.

Whimpering softly Mona looked down at her hands, that were bleeding pretty heavily. "Dang it." She cursed and sighed. She had used most of her strength to walk all the way along the path, when she had fallen down there was no energy to pick herself back up.

The swimmer watched Mona and sighed softly. "Look my house is just down the street, why don't you let me take you there, and we can call Hanna."

Mona's eyes shot up and she shook her head so hard it made her dizzy. "No, we won't call Hanna. She can't see me like this." Mona said her voice rising as her panic seemed to bloom inside of her chest.

"Oh." Paige blinked at this, wondering why Mona wouldn't want to see Hanna. Last time Paige had checked, it seemed to her that Mona was head over heels in love with Hanna.

"Okay, but let me take you back to my house. I can wrap your hands. You should call your mom though, she's going to be worried sick about you."  
>Mona wanted to argue, but she knew Paige was right. The shorter girl gave a nod, signaling that at least for the moment she was giving in to what Paige wanted. "Okay, let's go to<br>your house then McCullers."

It was slow moving, but finally after a lot of stops Paige managed to get Mona onto her porch. "Can you make it inside of the house? We can take another break if you want." Paige offered, concern in her eyes. She wasn't sure what it was, but she felt kind of protective towards Mona. She felt like they could relate on a deeper level due to the stuff they had been through with Alison. Alison had made their lives a living hell, and Paige hated that Mona had almost died because of it.

A ragged breath escaped Mona's lips before she answered. "I think I can make it inside, but I am not sure I can make it up the stairs."

"That's fine, you can sit on the couch. You need to relax for a little bit, and call your mom. She's bound to be worried sick about you, I know if you were my daughter I'd be worried." Paige replied, her voice full of concern. The swimmer helped Mona into the house, and guided her slowly to the couch. "I'll make you some tea." She promised, handing Mona a throw blanket. "It's okay if you get blood on it, I'll wash it later with bleach or something."

Mona stared down at her hand, barely acknowledging the fact that Paige had left her side. She wasn't sure she wanted to be alone, but all she could think about was Hanna. She had kicked Hanna from her room without hearing her out. She knew Hanna deserved better then that, but Mona hadn't been able to see past the heartache she had felt when  
>Hanna seemed unsure of them.<p>

Mona was alone in her thoughts and it took her a few moments to notice when Paige stared cleaning the cuts on her hands. "It looks like you might have pulled your stitches, I...I can't fix that, but I can stop the bleeding." Paige was saying, but Mona merely shrugged.

"Paige when Emily broke up with you, how'd you get over it?" Mona finally asked, her gaze slowly rising to meet Paige's. Mona needed a better coping mechanism, she needed to find a way to get through this with out hurting anybody. Mona had learned her lesson about being -A.

"What?!" Paige wasn't sure she had heard Mona correctly, she was a bit unsure if the girl was actually asking her about how she dealt with break ups. "Well the first time me and Emily broke up, it was kind of hard. I wasn't ready for the level of commitment Em needed, and I wasn't at the same level as her. The second time was due to a lie about Alison. Or rather breaking Emily's trust."

Mona nodded, she knew a lot about the break ups, she had spent most of her time stalking Emily and the rest of them. "But how did you move on?"

Paige had to think about Mona's question for a few seconds, so she distracted herself by finishing wrapping Mona's bloody hands with gauze. "I didn't, but I realized something. I deserve to be happy and while I would prefer to be happy with Emily, I am complete on my own. Emily is an important part of my life, but my girlfriend does not define who I am as a person. I am my own person." Paige replied, giving the shorter girl a soft smile. "Did Hanna break up with you? Is that why you left the hospital?"

Unsure of how to process Paige's words Mona just nodded her head. "Yeah, I couldn't be in the room anymore. I thought she was happy with me, but maybe it was just pity." Mona looked away from Paige, not wanting to appear weak. "Do you mind calling my mom for me, I think she deserves to know where I am. I've put her through enough pain the past few years, I don't want to add more stress or worry to her life."

Paige nodded and left to go call Mona's mom for her. She sent a quick text to Emily though, knowing that if Mona was missing from the hospital, that Hanna and Emily would probably be looking for her.

When Hanna and Emily arrived at Paige's house, Paige was sitting next to Mona, talking about colleges and watching a movie. Mona's eyes snapped to the door when she heard it open, though her eyes filled with confusion when she saw both Emily and Hanna.

"You called them?!" Mona asked, feeling slightly betrayed by Paige.

"I texted them after I called your mom. Your mom may be allowing you to stay here for a few hours, but you still need to go back to the hospital and make sure you aren't hurt worse." Paige said calmly, she looked into Mona's eyes. "Look Mona, you may not like that I called them, but you and Hanna need to talk. I think it would make you feel better."

Mona gave a huff. "You shouldn't have called them Paige, I trusted you." Mona said looking hurt, she knew Paige's heart was in the right place, but still.

Paige dipped her head feeling guilty. "I'm sorry Mona, I really am." Paige stood up and walked over to Emily, pulling her girlfriend into the kitchen.

Hanna hadn't taken her eyes off of Mona yet, her gaze remained on the girl, almost scared to let her go. The blonde swallowed thickly and then slowly approached the seat that

Paige had vacated when she left. "Mona.." She said the other girl's name as a soft plea, she had been scared to death when she got to the hospital. She was just so relieved to see Mona.

"Hanna...What are you doing here?" Mona asked, trying to keep her defenses up, she wasn't about to let Hanna come stampeding back into her heart so quickly after breaking it.

"I've been looking for you all day."

The words came out of Hanna's mouth with such sincerity, that Mona felt almost obligated to forgive her right then and there. All Mona wanted to do was to reach out and touch Hanna's cheek. She missed her already, the emotional distance as well as the physical distance Mona had put between them was killing her inside.

"Mona, I wasn't trying to hurt you last night. I just, if you had let me finish I would have told you that I do want to be with you. I want to give us a shot, but you need to focus on your recovery right now." Hanna explained, holding up two fingers to shush the shorter girl when she tried to interrupt. She was so tired of Mona not letting her finish. "I don't ever want to fake it with you Mona, I want to be as real with you as you've been to me. I didn't know you had all of these feelings, but I feel like I do have those feelings for you. But rushing this, going into this relationship full speed without thinking it through isn't smart." Hanna said, trying to be the voice of reason.

Mona wasn't used to Hanna being the voice of reason, but she could see her point. She gave a nod of her head, signaling that she understood what Hanna was saying.

"I don't want to be Kim Kardashian and that basketball player she married, I want to be like Brad and Angelina. I want the real deal with you Mona." Hanna said, her gaze intense as she stared into Mona's eyes.

Mona snorted softly, of course Hanna would reference celebrities when talking about their love life. She should have known better than to put it past Hanna. "Alright Han, I get it. I get it."

Hanna gave a soft smile, and slowly reached out to grab one of Mona's injuried hands. She lifted it to her lips, gently kissing Mona's knuckles. "I do care for you Mona, I really do. I want us to be together, but I think we just need to focus on your recovery. Then maybe when you get out of the hospital we could go on a real date." Hanna suggest sheepishly, she flashed a small smile, trying to look hopeful.

A deep sigh left Mona's lips, and she pretended to think about it. "I suppose, I could fit you into my schedule for a few hours. I mean I'm sooo busy." Mona said rolling her eyes playfully.

"Shut up Vanderwaal." Hanna growled playfully, her gaze narrowing in on Mona's lips. She leaned in and slowly pressed her lips to Mona's, kissing her softly for a few seconds.

Mona melted into the kiss, but quickly started to return it, her other hand slowly cupping Hanna's cheek. She wasn't sure why Hanna had decided to kiss her, but it made her heart feel like it was going to beat out of her chest.

"Whoa. What was that for?" Mona asked, her breathing a little shaky from the unexpected kiss.

Smirking coyly, Hanna shrugged. "Just showing you, that when you get better, you have somebody waiting for you."

Mona pouted at the thought that she potentially couldn't get any more kisses until she was better. "Are you going to refrain from kissing me until I get better. I think your kisses are helping though, a kiss a day keeps the doctors away."

Hanna rolled her eyes but gave Mona another kiss. "We'll see about more kisses in the future, but I really do think you need to go home and see your mom." Hanna warned, knowing her own mother would be worried sick if Hanna had signed herself out of the hospital.

The shorter girl nodded but snuggled into Hanna's side. "I am sorry about over reacting last night. I just, I was tired from physical therapy and I thought you didn't want me anymore." Mona explained, she knew she had over reacted, but still.

"Shhhh, it's okay Mona. It's okay." Hanna coaxed, running a hand through Mona's hair, trying to smooth it down. "It's going to be okay. I forgive you, if you forgive me for scaring you like that. I do want you Mona, I really think we can make this work." Hanna replied giving her a soft smile. "We'll be a power couple for sure. We'll be the Prince William and Kate Middleton of Rosewood." Hanna promised, trying to reassure her that things would work.

Mona snorted, but she seemed to relax. "You know, you're kind of silly, but I love that about you. I don't think I'd change a thing."

Hanna beamed at Mona and winked. "I wouldn't change a thing about you either."

"They're kind of sickly sweet." Emily remarked from her position in the kitchen. She had watched her best friend and Mona patching things up, but she still didn't completely trust  
>Mona. "If Mona hurts her, I'll make her wish Alison had killed her."<p>

Paige rolled her eyes, Emily's protective streak was amazing but incredibly annoying sometimes. "Babe, you gotta give people room to make mistakes." Paige commented, kissing her girlfriend's neck.

Emily moaned softly and closed her eyes. "Stop trying to distract me." She grumbled playfully, though truthfully she didn't really mind Paige's kisses.

"Oh but it's so much fun." Paige teased, sucking on her girlfriend's pulse point. "Besides I think you and me need a little alone time, and apparently so do they. C'mon, let's see just how quiet you can be." Paige said taking her girlfriend's hand and dragging her up the stairs, careful to leave Mona and Hanna alone in the front room.

"Are they going to fuck?" Mona asked, listening to the steps creaking as the swimmers crept up to Paige's room.

Hanna snorted and rolled her eyes. "Don't worry they tend to do that a lot."

Mona giggled softly. "Maybe we'll be that couple some day."

"Well maybe some day. But for now, I am fine with just taking my time with you." Hanna said kissing her softly, before focusing in on cuddling with Mona and watching the movie on the screen.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:**So I decided this would probably be the finale chapter. At least for this story I wanted to end on a positive note, because Vandermarin deserves a happy ending. So I hope you all enjoy the last chapter and that it gives you all some closure.

Three months.

Three months had been how long it had taken Mona to rehab all of her injuries so that she would be able to get back to her life, and get back to normal. Well as normal as one could be for having killed somebody. Alison's dad had tried to sue her, but the court had ruled in Mona's favor and had actually award Mona some of the DiLaurentis money for her pain and suffering.

Out of everything that had happened though, it was finally getting to go to a prestigious college that made Mona happy. She felt like she could finally leave all of the crappy stuff that had happened in Rosewood behind. She just wanted to focus on the good things in life and not sweat the small stuff. She had worked, and now she felt like it was her time to be in the sun.

Things with Hanna had gone okay, Hanna had gotten an internship at a fashion magazine and was taking some classes at the local jr. college to get a degree just in case her internship didn't work out. Mona was rather proud of her girlfriend, they had talked things out and in Mona's opinion she felt like they were continuing to get stronger every single day. Mona supposed that was what was important.

Looking around her dorm room, Mona sighed contentedly. She had put the finishing touches on organizing everything and she was looking forward to just relaxing and blowing off a little bit of steam. However a knock at the door seemed to put a dent into those plans. Creeping to the door, Mona arched up on her tippy toes to check out who was at her door.

Seeing a flash of blonde hair, Mona couldn't help but smile. Of course it would be Hanna probably coming over to check on her and to make sure she had settled in alright. Mona opened the door for her, and stepped back so that Hanna could come into the house if she wanted to.

"Hey Hanna." Mona greeted warmly, surprised to see her girlfriend. "I didn't know we have plans." She said, tilting her head in contemplation of the blood. She knew Hanna could be forgetful sometimes, but she also liked when Hanna would do things to surprise her. It was nice to be surprised every once and a while, although Mona probably would never admit it out loud.

"We didn't have plans, but I wanted to see you. I thought maybe we could go out on that date that you promise me a few months ago. I mean I know we've both been busy, but I think three months is long enough to wait to have a first real date." Hanna said, her words coming out fast. Mona had known her long enough to know that Hanna was feeling a bit nervous.

Mona looked her over, as if she really had to think about it. Spending time with Hanna was always a lot more fun then unpacking, and Mona was more than eager to just spend sometime with her favorite girl. "Alright, I am down. Where are you taking me Marin, do I need to dress up?" Mona asked, locking gazes with her girlfriend.

Hanna shook her head, and shrugged her shoulders. "I think you look beautiful just the way you are. The only thing that would make this night more perfect is if I had remembered to bring some flowers." Hanna joked, she had never been the 'guy' in a relationship before. This was still new territory for her, but what she liked was that it felt fair and equal.

The past three months had been the best time of Hanna's life. Sure they had their ups and downs, what couple didn't? But Hanna felt like she had gotten to know Mona all over again, she felt like she had learned things about her girlfriend that she didn't know even when they had been best friends. Mona had really proved to Hanna that she was full of surprises, romantic and other wise.

"I don't need flowers, not when I got you." Mona stated cheekily, leaning in to kiss Hanna's cheek. It had taken a lot for Mona to actually let Hanna in past her defenses, but so far she hadn't regretted it. She had let Hanna see the parts of her that weren't pretty, she had let Hanna see her at her weakest. It amazed Mona that Hanna hadn't run from her, Hanna had stuck by her side when she got her stitches out and when she was tired and grumpy from having to do physical therapy.

Mona felt complete with Hanna, she felt like a missing piece of her had been found and glued back together. There was something that just felt right about being together. She smiled softly as she watched her girlfriend, letting her fingers slowly trail the blonde's jawline. "So are you going to tell me where we're going?"

Smirking, the blonde shrugged her shoulders. "It's a surprise. I just need you to trust me." Hanna replied, a spark of mischief shining through her eyes.

"I do. I do trust you." Mona had opened up a lot, and had learned that she could confide in Hanna. It had taken a lot of courage to tell Hanna everything that had happened during the fight with Alison, but when Mona had finally let it all out she felt peace.

Hanna kissed her softly and then grabbed her hand, gently dragging Mona out the door behind her. Mona giggled and followed after Hanna, she could tell that her girlfriend was rather excited.

"So I've been thinking, and before you get all jumpy I'll tell you that it's nothing bad. I've been thinking that we've kind of been dating for three months now, and I just wanted to tell you that I'm happy." Hanna said, opening the door to her car for Mona. She glanced at her, her blue eyes meeting Mona's darker eyes.

Mona opened her mouth to speak, but felt her breath catch in her throat. The way that Hanna looked at her in that moment, the look of utter love, it was breath taking. All Mona had ever wanted, even when she had been -A, was just for Hanna to look at her with half that love.

Mona climbed into the car, and took a moment to collect herself. "I love you Hanna, and I really do feel happy too. I don't think I would have been able to make it through this whole ordeal without you."

The blonde did a little shimmy, her version of a happy dance. "I'm glad you feel that way. I know I was so scared that I had lost you, but I am glad I didn't lose my chance." Hanna remarked, settling into her seat.

The shorter girl simply rolled her eyes, growing quiet for the rest of the drive. She didn't much mind the silence, she was used to Hanna just putting on whatever radio station the blonde felt like. Mona had ridden in enough car trip with Hanna to know that letting Hanna have her way with the radio was better then a fight later.

When they finally got to the secret location that Hanna was taking them too, Mona took a moment to look around. It look almost like an abandoned camp ground, and Mona felt a little hesitant to get out of the car. She trusted Hanna though, and if her girlfriend had a surprise for her, then Mona knew she would have to trust her.

Mona followed Hanna out of the car, still silent as she matched her pace with Hanna's. Hanna lead her over a hill and then stopped. At the bottom of the hill was a picnic table, a small little bone fire and some Chinese lanterns.

"I wanted to give you a first date you could remember Mona. I want us to spend the rest of our lives going on stupid silly dates like this. I want to get to know you, every mask, everything that makes you unique. I am interested in you Mona, and from the bottom of my heart, I want you to know that I am in love with you." Hanna said before offering her hand to Mona.

Mona swallowed thickly and stared at Hanna's hand for a moment. Trusting Hanna with her hand, it felt like there was a double meaning to it. Sure her hand was scared from Alison's knife, and her hands had done a lot of damage to really good people. However Hanna was still willing to take her hand, and that meant a lot to Mona.

Finally the shorter girl placed her hand in the blonde's and gave her a soft smile. "I love you too Hanna, I really love you. It's something I can feel deep inside of me, like I just know that I know it." Mona replied, snuggling into her girlfriend's side as they walked down the hill to the picnic.

"So how'd you come up with this idea anyways?" Mona asked, wondering what had possessed Hanna to come up with this idea specifically.

The blonde shrugged her shoulders and cracked a tiny smile. "Well I was talking to Emily and Paige happened to be there. She said you made a comment about watching the stars and how cute that would be. So I decided to make one of your wishes come true. After we eat, we can watch some stars together. I think that'd be a great way to start the next chapter of our life. We're in college now, and I couldn't be happier at the moment. I have you, and let's face it, we're the fricken bradgelina of Rosewood."

Mona cracked a soft smile and nodded her head. "Of course you would say that. I love you Hanna Marin."

"And I love you too Mona Vanderwaal. I really do." Hanna replied, leaning over to press a kiss to her cheek. "Now, let's eat. We got a bright future ahead of us."

Mona giggled softly. "Oh yeah, why do you say that?" She asked surprised by Hanna's optimism.

"Because I was talking to your mom last night, and I got her okay. She is cool with us dating." Hanna said her face lighting up. She had wanted to really start the relationship out right. Now Mona was all healed and they could give it a real shot.

"You are such a nerd, but I love you. I would change anything about you Hanna. You are my girl." Mona said, her heart swelling with love for Hanna. She meant it too, Hanna was hers now and that was all she had ever wanted. She felt complete, and like nothing would get in their way now.

**The end**


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